• August 2019

    Program Updates

The Flame|

The Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health, Graduate Medical Education program hosted two of its signature events during the first half of 2019, and also recently bid farewell to a pair of physicians who contributed immensely to the project.

Scholarly Day

In April, the Department of Medical Education hosted its fifth annual Medical Education Research Symposium. There were 48 posters displayed and 23 oral presentations highlighting the research efforts of medical students, residents and fellows. Based upon judges’ scoring and recommendations, the following projects were recognized for excellence in their respective areas:

Case Presentation

Medical Student – Allen Jacob (TAMU medical student), Genitourinary Sarcoidosis Masking as Metastatic Testicular Carcinoma

Resident – Jessica Meyer, MD, (Internal Medicine), Hypernatremia: One of the Highest Survivable Serum Sodium Recordings in Dallas

Fellow – Andres Leal, MD, (Thoracic Surgery), Management of Right-Sided Aortic Arch Aneurysms: Hybrid Approach

Poster – Original Research

Medical Student – Sima Amin (TAMU medical student), A Study of Hyfrecation and Interference with Implantable Cardiac Devices

Resident – Jiesu Lee Sun, MD, (Internal Medicine), CODES: Creating Opportunities to Directly Enhance Simulations for ACLS

Quality and Safety

Medical Student – Harith Baldawi (TAMU medical student), STS Risk Calculator As a Metric For Mechanical Circulatory Support Device Implants

Resident – Kara Bunting, MD, (Physical Medicine and Rehab), Establishing an Aquatic Therapy Protocol for Patients with AIS-A/B Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

Oral Presentation (Finalists)

Alexis Medders (TAMU medical student – MS3), Effect of Umbilical Cord Milking on Term Newborns Delivered by Cesarean Section

Cassandra Kaiser, DO, (Physical Medicine and Rehab), Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients Readmitted to Acute Care from Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation

Winner: Prianka Singapura, MD (Gastroenterology), Therapeutic INR Increases Endoscopic Yield of Identifying Culprit Lesion in Left Ventricular Assist Device Recipients Presenting with GI Bleeding

Graduation

On May 31, the Office of Graduate Medical Education held their annual institutional graduation. This year’s recipient of the Ralph Tompsett Teaching Award was Michael Emmett, MD. Nominated for his, “tireless efforts in the teaching of our housestaff and medical students and has been unbelievably influential in the world’s generations of future physicians.”

Congratulations to our 2019 graduates:

  • Stephanie Chartier-Plante, MD, Abdominal Transplant Surgery
  • Aasim Afzal, MD, Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology
  • Vikram Raje, DO, Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology
  • Laura Baugh, DO, Anatomic & Clinical Pathology
  • Aaron Belknap, MD, Anatomic & Clinical Pathology
  • Arthur Bredeweg, DO, Anatomic & Clinical Pathology
  • Shannon Kelley, MD, Anatomic & Clinical Pathology
  • Benjamin Lang, MD, Anatomic & Clinical Pathology
  • Don Le, DO, Anatomic & Clinical Pathology
  • Jennifer Caero, MD, Breast Imaging
  • Catherine Fusilier, MD, Breast Imaging
  • Laura Griffin Ray, MD, Breast Oncology Surgery
  • Karim Al-Azizi, MD, Cardiology Structural Heart
  • Clay Barbin, MD, Cardiovascular Disease
  • Andy Lee, MD, Cardiovascular Disease
  • Zachary Rosol, MD, Cardiovascular Disease
  • Anita Krueger, MD, Cardiovascular Surgery Structural Heart
  • Mohammed Al-Temimi, MD, Colon & Rectal Surgery
  • Alyson Crawford, MD, Colon & Rectal Surgery
  • Ryan Jones, MD, Colon & Rectal Surgery
  • Isabel Haugh, MD, Dermatology
  • Gregory Peterson, MD, Dermatology
  • Jessica Belmarez, MD, Diagnostic Radiology
  • Michael Evans, MD, Diagnostic Radiology
  • Andrew Lichliter, MD, Diagnostic Radiology
  • Lauren Martinez, MD, Diagnostic Radiology
  • Justin McCaslin, MD, Diagnostic Radiology
  • Elisabeth Moredock, MD, Diagnostic Radiology
  • Andrew Coppola, MD, Family Medicine
  • Joseph Godwin, DO, Family Medicine
  • Samiksha Gupta, MD, Family Medicine
  • Omonmen Ighalo, MD, Family Medicine
  • Dallas Wright, MD, Family Medicine
  • Christopher Adair, MD, Foot & Ankle Surgery
  • Andrew Pao, MD, Foot & Ankle Surgery
  • Danielle Thomas, MD, Foot & Ankle Surgery
  • Jamil Alsahhar, MD, Gastroenterology
  • Patrick Snyder, MD, Gastroenterology
  • Mark Draoua, MD, General Surgery
  • Drew Farmer, MD, General Surgery
  • Jessica Goodwin, MD, General Surgery
  • Lauren Kastner, MD, General Surgery
  • Sarah Kim, MD, M.P.H., General Surgery
  • Marissa Mencio, MD, General Surgery
  • Edward Otts, MD, General Surgery
  • Sasha Still, MD, General Surgery
  • Samir Mazharuddin, MD, Hematology & Oncology
  • Alicia Swink, MD, Hematology & Oncology
  • Daniel Hale, MD, Hematopathology
  • Deepak Bommisetty, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Rakin Choudhury, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Danielle Dixon, DO, Internal Medicine
  • Helen Hashemi, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Jason Joseph, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Kathleen Kopecky, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Lam Le, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Melissa Nelson, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Stephanie Reinhold, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Ronak Rengarajan, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Syed Sarmast, MD, M.P.H., Internal Medicine
  • Dat Tran, MD, Internal Medicine
  • Muhammad Panezai, MD, Nephrology
  • Mohammed Rahman, MD, Nephrology
  • Brittney Anders, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Robert Gladney, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Shannon Miller, DO, Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Shefali Pappu, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Casey Roth, MD, Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Wade Barker, DDS, MD, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
  • David Cho, DDS, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
  • Austin Ivey, DDS, MD, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
  • Kara Bunting, DO, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
  • Cassandra Kaiser, DO, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
  • Sabrina Young, DO, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
  • Anam Azimuddin, MD, Preliminary Medicine
  • Sarah Freathy, MD, Preliminary Medicine
  • Benjamin Freemyer, MD, Preliminary Medicine
  • Bryce Gagliano, MD, Preliminary Medicine
  • Parth Patel, MD, Preliminary Medicine
  • Gaurav Synghal, MD, Preliminary Medicine
  • Max Cayo, MD, Preliminary Surgery
  • John Johnson, DDS, Preliminary Surgery
  • Thoris Pan, MD, Pulmonary Disease & Critical Care Medicine
  • Ginger Tsai-Nguyen, MD, Pulmonary Disease & Critical Care Medicine
  • Edwin Austin, MD, Surgical Critical Care
  • Cynthia Kwong, MD, Surgical Critical Care
  • Benjamin Rejowski, MD, Surgical Critical Care
  • William Weber, MD, Surgical Critical Care
  • Alexia Ghazi, DO, Surgical Pathology
  • Jamil Alsahhar, MD, Transplant Hepatology
  • Sean Gipson, MD, Vascular & Interventional Radiology
  • Matthew Weissenborn, MD, Vascular & Interventional Radiology
  • Robert Corn, MD, Vascular Surgery
  • Arash Shirvani, MD, Vascular Surgery

Retirements

After 40 years of dedicated service, Irving Prengler, MD, has retired as executive vice president and chief medical officer for Baylor Scott & White Health’s North Texas facilities to spend more time with his family and continue his involvement in his synagogue.

Dr. Prengler began his career in 1980 with an internal medicine internship at Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health. He has since held numerous leadership roles, advancing patient safety and quality practices that helped shape the legacy of our system. He has guided physicians and clinicians through significant industry changes, including the conversion to electronic health records and the development of one of the first hospitalist groups in Dallas. His passion for medical education helped establish affiliations with leading academic institutions, resulting in generations of new healthcare leaders.

Daniel Polter, MD, has been a stalwart of the Gastroenterology Division since being recruited by Ralph Tompsett, MD, to lead the Division in 1971. During his 32-year tenure as chief, Baylor University Medical Center Gastroenterology became synonymous with technologically advanced diagnosis and treatment for digestive and liver diseases delivered by caring physicians. He has been a visionary and transformative leader.

Dr. Polter started the Gastroenterology Fellowship Program at Baylor University Medical Center, producing more than 60 graduates since 1971. He also was instrumental in the establishment of the Liver Transplant Program. He served as president and chairman of the Baylor University Medical Center medical staff board and president of the Texas Society for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy. He served for six years on the Residency Review Committee for Internal Medicine, evaluating standards and accrediting Internal Medicine programs throughout the country. His clinical prowess and leadership have earned awards from state and national GI organizations.

Since leaving private practice in 2011, he has remained active as a teacher, investigator and role model for the gastroenterology fellows and medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center.